Jessica Bakeman eports:
A dozen New York City parents are asking the state Supreme Court to block the state Education Department from releasing student information to a data integration company, arguing that providing the information would violate privacy laws.
As part of the federal grant program Race To The Top, through which New York won $700 million in 2010, the state contracted with inBloom, Inc., which will use “demographic, enrollment, attendance, behavior, course performance and state and formative assessment information” to develop individualized technological tools for the classroom, according to the state. The database will also allow teachers and parents to compare students to others throughout the state.
By the end of October, school districts were supposed to choose one of three “data dashboard” companies to create local databases. Some districts decided instead to opt out of the federal grant money rather than upload their information into the local databases, but the state has said they will upload those districts’ data into the statewide database anyway.
The lawsuit, which the parents plan to file Wednesday, names the Education Department as well as its leaders, education commissioner John King and the Board of Regents.
Read more on Capital.
Update: you can read the plaintiffs’ application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) here (pdf).